Amputations

Catastrophic Injury Lawyers Based in the Syracuse and Rochester Areas

An amputation can become necessary due to injuries caused by an accident. Amputations are surgical removals of all or part of limbs or extremities. Your leg, arm, foot, hand, finger, or toe could need to be amputated after sustaining severe damage. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, our Syracuse amputation lawyers may be able to help you recover damages arising from an amputation when the need for it was caused by another party's negligence or wrongdoing, such as in a car accident or construction accident.

Amputations and Their Consequences

There are many reasons why a limb or extremity may need to be amputated. For example, if there is a severe injury to a limb or a serious burn, the doctors may not be able to repair it. Tissue affected by a serious injury that has started to die can result in an infection that necessitates amputation. If a cancerous tumor develops in your bone or muscle, a limb surrounding it may need to be amputated.

Usually, after a surgery in which an amputation is performed, it is necessary to stay at the hospital for 5-14 days or even more, depending on the extent of the damage. During the surgery, a patient may receive general or spinal anesthesia. The surgeon will remove the damaged tissue, try to remove crushed bone or diseased tissues, smooth uneven bone, cut and shape muscles to allow for a prosthesis, and try to leave as much healthy tissue as they can.

If you needed to undergo an amputation due to negligence or wrongdoing by another party, an amputation attorney in the Syracuse area may be able to bring a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf. The theory under which we assert liability would vary depending on the circumstances. For example, if you sustained a crushing injury in a truck accident, and your arm needed to amputated, we would likely need to establish the truck driver's negligence. This would probably entail proving that it is more likely than not that the truck driver owed you a duty of care but caused the accident by breaching the duty. On the other hand, if you were a visitor to someone else's property, and a heavy portion of the roof fell, pinning your leg, we would likely need to establish premises liability, which involves establishing actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition that caused your injuries.

Sometimes an amputation becomes necessary due to medical malpractice. In that case, our Syracuse amputation attorneys would need to show that the health care provider deviated from the professional standard of care, and the deviation legally caused the need for the amputation and the loss of a limb. In such cases, we would likely need to retain a credible expert on the issues of what the standard of care was for a particular provider, whether it was violated, and whether the violation caused the need for the amputation. The expert should be able to explain complicated technical information in ways that make it easier for a jury to understand the factual and legal issues at stake. In other cases, the wrong limb is amputated (a wrong-site surgery), and in such cases, the malpractice is likely to be clear to the jury.

Damages that you may be able to recover include the economic and noneconomic losses that flow from the injuries, such as medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, replacement services, out-of-pocket expenses, and pain and suffering (which may include phantom limb pain). Among other tangible things, after an amputation, you may need a prosthesis, physical therapy, and other rehabilitation. Assuming that we can establish liability for the injured or infected limb, you may be able to recover the costs for treatment of it as well.

Retain an Experienced Amputation Lawyer in Syracuse or Surrounding Areas

If you are harmed due to someone else’s carelessness, our law firm may be able to help you recover damages from the responsible parties. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents people injured in accidents in communities such as Syracuse, Rochester, Binghamton, Auburn, Elmira, Norwich, Cortland, Delhi, Herkimer, Watertown, Lowville, Oneida, Wampsville, Utica, Canandaigua, Oswego, Cooperstown, Ithaca, and Lyons. Call us at 315-479-9000 or contact us via our online form.

"We were very impressed with how Jeff DeFrancisco represented us at trial and we were extremely happy when the jury found in our favor." D.M., Auburn, NY

★★★★★

"I cannot express in words what an awesome job Charlie Falgiatano and Jean Marie Westlake did in representing my family in my mother's case at trial. There can never be enough thank-yous." D.L., Cortland, NY

★★★★★

"I suffered a serious injury as a result of medical malpractice. My husband and I retained Jeff DeFrancisco to assist us in this case. We were extremely happy with his representation and highly recommend him." Kelley R., Syracuse, NY

★★★★★

Since the insurance company was unwilling to settle the matter my case ultimately went to trial. At trial Jeff DeFrancisco did an absolutely amazing job by obtaining a very favorable result for me." T.H., Oneida, NY

★★★★★

"I highly recommend DeFrancisco & Falgiatano - Charlie represented me for a medical malpractice case. He is the best of the best. He is friendly and I am very happy with the representation he provided." Roger N., Oneida, NY

We serve clients throughout New York including those in the following localities: Onondaga County including East Syracuse and Syracuse; Broome County including Binghamton; Cayuga County including Auburn; Chemung County including Elmira; Chenango County including Norwich; Cortland County including Cortland; Jefferson County including Watertown; Madison County including Oneida; Monroe County including Fairport, Rochester, and Webster; Oneida County including New Hartford and Utica; Ontario County including Canandaigua; Oswego County including Oswego; St. Lawrence County including Canton; and Tompkins County including Ithaca.